In commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,600, there is disclosed a mechanism for counterbalancing the torque effects of gravity on vertically swinging cabinet lids, which includes a stationary hinge part adapted to be fixed to a cabinet, a movable hinge part mounted on the stationary hinge part for pivotal movement about an essentially horizontally disposed first axis; and a counterbalance assembly including an adjustable compression spring arranged to bear adjacent its opposite ends on the hinge parts for establishing a moment tending to counterbalance gravity induced torque effects on a cabinet lid during vertical swinging movements thereof. More specifically, the assembly includes a connector having a bore opening; a hinge pin for supporting the connector on the stationary hinge part for relative movement about an axis disposed essentially normal to the bore opening and parallel to the first axis; a friction brake member carried for vertical tilting movements relative to the movable hinge part; a bolt having one end extending freely through the friction brake member and having another end rotatably supported within the bore opening; and a plate threadably carried by the bolt adjacent the connector, whereby to permit adjustments of the plate lengthwise of the bolt. The spring is in the form of a coil type compression spring arranged essentially concentrically of the bolt to bear adjacent its opposite ends on the plate and friction brake member, such that displacements of the plate lengthwise of the bolt effect the degree to which the spring is compressed.
The mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,766,600 is believed to have the singular drawback of requiring swinging movements of the counterbalance assembly relative to the lid affixed hinge part, such that use of the mechanism is prevented in certain installations having limited space allowances.